Life is Messy, But That's OK
by Tripoqgirl
Summary: Takes place after "the Unbound". I needed more, so I wrote more. Basically this is how Wes and Mac's relationship changes. Not action packed. Owen is gone. They don't need more craziness. Yes, this includes Wes's name. Please review.
1. Chapter 1

**I stand in front of the members of the archive. They have just found me innocent of treason.**

**I had to pretend to betray the Archive in order to deceive Owen, but I am not going to be punished because I succeeded in returning him when no one else could have.**

**They let me leave and I rush to find Wesley. He's in the atrium waiting for me.**

**I run to him and he wraps his arms around me. We're both bruised and broken, but I pull him tighter against me, glad that we're both alive and unaltered. I push my lips against his in a desperate kiss. I know that here and now might be all I have, and right now I want to be with Wesley Ayers. I'm not going to let my fear of losing him stop me any longer.**

**He kisses back, but then pulls away, needing to talk. "What happened tonight, Mac?" he asks.**

"**I'll tell you later," I reply.**

"**I'll hold you to it."**

**Before he can kiss me again, we're ushered back into the Outer.**

**EMTs look us over. I'm released, but Wesley must be more injured than he looks, because they take him away in an ambulance just to be safe. Before he leaves, all he says is "Leave the window open."**

* * *

I look at my open window, watching as Wes climbs into my room. I see him wince, but when he looks up at me he smiles, tired but genuine.

"Alright, explain," he says as he sits down on my desk chair.

I tell Wes how Owen came back through the void, still wanting to overthrow the archive. How he wanted me to help him, and when I saw that it was the only chance I had of returning him, I played along and convinced him that I was his ally in order to return him. How he killed Eric and made the Crews chase after me as a distraction so that he could overthrow the archive.

Wes listens patiently, and when I finish he sits there for a minute in silence, absorbing the information I've shared with him.

"So …you didn't tell me because you wanted to keep me safe?" He asks, indignant.

I nod. "He would've killed you if you tried to interfere."

His forehead creases as he frowns slightly. "Can you promise me something?" I nod and he continues. "No more secrets, okay?"

I nod. I stand up and pull _Dante's Inferno_ off of my shelf, handing it to him. He opens it and the _ALL_ page flutters to the ground. He picks it up, unfolds it, and looks at me for an explanation.

"I took it from Owen's pocket. He wanted to send a message to everyone from the Archive, telling them to rebel."

He runs his finger over it, then folds it back up and puts it in his pocket.

"I'm going to burn it," he says. "It's not worth the risk."

I nod as he places _Inferno_ back onto my shelf, the _ALL_ page no longer in it. He's right; I can't get in trouble with the Archive again.

"What you said before, about me being worth it…"

I sit down on my bed and pull my key out from under my shirt, studying it. If I look at Wes right now, I won't be able to say what I need to.

"You're worth the risk of getting hurt," I say softly. "I would sacrifice anything for you. Even though I knew I might get altered if my plan with Owen went wrong, I had to go through with it, because if I didn't, I knew he would hurt you."

I stop, trying to find the right words. "Before, I was afraid that if I let myself be with you, I'd end up hurting you or losing you completely, and you meant too much to me for that to be okay."

He stands and comes to sit down next to me, settling onto the bed with a wince. He reaches his hand out and brushes tears off of my cheeks, his noise whispering through his touch. I hadn't realized I was crying.

"I'm sorry," I whisper.

He takes my hand in his, his music flowing over me. "I'm not."

And then he's holding me and I can feel tears on his cheeks and mine, but I'm not crying anymore. My fingers tangle in his hair, pulling his face towards mine, but he stops me before I can kiss him.

"Beds are for boyfriends," He whispers.

I look into his eyes and smile. "That shouldn't be a problem."

I state what he needs to hear, and what I need to say. "Wesley Ayers, you are my boyfriend."

It's all he needs to know as he closes the gap between our lips and kisses me. He pulls me towards him so that we're both lying down, side by side. His music pours through me as we kiss, arms wrapped around each other.

My whole body hurts from our ordeal, and I'm sure his does, too, but the pain is comforting in a way. It means I'm alive. And I want so desperately to feel alive.

I know that Da would disapprove of this, of letting Wes in, letting him track the Archive all over my life. Everything about Wes is messy, and being with him makes my life messy, but that's okay. He's worth it.

* * *

After what seems like hours, Wes pulls away to turn the bedside lamp off. He turns back towards me and we just lay there in the darkness of my room, holding each other. I let his rock sound and his touch surround and comfort me. In his arms, I am safe. I know that when I wake up, he'll be gone, but I can hold him now, and that's the only thing that seems to matter.

"Sweet dreams," he whispers into my hair as I drift off to sleep. I smile as my eyes start to close. I have Wesley, and when his arms and noise are wrapped around me, I never have nightmares.


	2. Chapter 2

When I wake up, Wes is gone. My parents are waiting for me in the kitchen. They want me to stay home and rest, but I convince them that I'm fine. I don't want to miss any school, and I want to see Wes again.

Mom lets me go on the condition that I let her drive me to school. She's worried that I won't be able to ride _Dante_ with my wrists all cut up, and still suspicious about how I was injured. I couldn't exactly tell her that a Crew member used a sharp metal wire to subdue me last night when I pretended to go rouge in order to return a psychotic history. So instead of the truth, I told her that I got cut up from trying to get out of the booth that collapsed on top of me. I can tell she doesn't really believe that, but I'm not giving her any other explanations.

After Mom drops me off I head towards the bike rack, hoping Wesley will be there waiting for me. I see him leaning against it, and when he sees me he smiles. Not his usual crooked smile, but a genuine smile.

I walk towards him, and he wraps his arms around my waist, pulling me closer to him. His noise flows through me, familiar and comforting.

He rests his forehead against mine. "Are you sure you want to do this?" He asks.

I smile and wrap my arms around his shoulders. "Yes." I want to be with Wes.

He pulls me into a kiss and we just stand there kissing until I hear someone clear his throat. I break away from Wesley and turn to see that Cash is behind us.

"Alright, kids," he says, "plenty of time for that later. Now come on, school's about to start."

He's trying to hide it, but I can hear the disappointment in his voice. I know he wanted to be with me.

The rest of the day goes smoothly. I got enough sleep last night, which means for once I'm not struggling to stay awake. I don't see Owen when I close my eyes anymore. The Owen from my nightmares was very different from the real one, and now that he's gone, he's stopped haunting me.

During lunch, Wes and I sit next to each other. No one in the group seems surprised that Wes and I are together, despite his reputation as a flirt.

Later, when I ask Amber why no one is surprised, she says, "Everyone knows Wesley's a flirt, but with you …it's different. You have a connection with him that sets you apart from the other girls. And you two getting together has been coming since the first day of school. Probably since you met."

After school, I meet up with Wesley. Cash wanted him to stay and help clean up Hyde, but he made an excuse so that he could leave. He has 3 histories on his list, and we should take care of them.

We enter the door to the narrows, and we're in Wesley's territory. We both take off our rings and follow a noise coming from down the hall, finding the history who's making it. We return _Christine Quill. 12._,_ Lewis Green. 9._, and_ Anna Thatcher. 6._, then head into my territory.

As I reach to open the door that leads to the Outer, my skin brushes against Wes and his noise prickles through me. I cringe and pull away. Neither one of us have our ring on.

He looks at me, and his forehead creases as he frowns. "What's wrong?"

"I don't have my ring on."

He steps closer so that we're almost touching. His music is barely audible.

"Do you trust me?" He asks.

* * *

**It is the first day of school at Hyde.**

**Wes is sitting on a bench, reading. I look at him, wondering how many masks he has. He looks like a different version of ****_my_**** Wes, the one from summer. The only thing that marks him as the same guy I met this summer is the ring on his finger and the outline of his key under his shirt. It's almost like he's wearing a disguise, but it fits so well that I can't help but wonder if my Wesley - the one with spiked hair, eyeliner, and a mischievous smile - was the act.**

**He looks up at me, and suddenly I see both versions at once. My Wes is still under there somewhere. But I keep asking myself,****_ How many faces does Wesley Ayers have?_**

**As we walk, I squint my eyes, focusing and unfocusing to find both versions of Wesley.**

"**Go ahead, say it." He says as he leads me down the path.**

"**You look different," I say.**

* * *

I look at Wes. "Yes," I reply. "I trust you."

He holds out his hand. I hesitate, then take it. I don't know what he'll see, but I trust him with it. I don't care anymore if he sees my weaknesses or secrets. He's worth loving, worth letting in. I don't want to hide anymore. As our hands meet, his noise and thoughts jumble through my head. _Love her maybe crew together someday arms wrapped around me safe thunderstorm not alone anymore._

I see him how he really is. He's not just Wesley Ayers, he's Wes. All of the masks I've seen him wear are just different versions of him. The Wesley I've known this whole time was not just an act. My Wes and the school Wes are the same. I should never have doubted him.

I smile. "Wes, I …I love you."

His lips quirk up in a crooked smile. "I love you too, Mac."

I pull him into a lingering kiss, then open the door and step out into the Coronado. Neither of us puts our ring back on as we head up the stairs hand in hand into 3F.

Mom and Dad are already in the kitchen. They must've come home early to watch over me after what happened last night at Hyde.

Mom turns towards me and blinks in surprise at seeing Wesley here. She recovers quickly, and smiles approvingly at Wes. "Would your boyfriend like to stay for dinner?" she asks.

Dad looks at me, seeing if I'll contradict Mom, if I'll say that Wesley isn't my boyfriend. But I don't. Instead I turn to Wes, waiting for an answer.

He smiles. "That sounds great."

As he and I go to my room to do homework, I can't help but smile. Wesley Ayers is my boyfriend.


	3. Epilogue 1

It's graduation day for me, and as I stand up to receive my graduation certificate, I see Wes smiling in the audience. He graduated last year, and now we're both officially out of high school.

After the ceremony, Wes, Mom, Dad, and I go out to a celebratory dinner. As we're finishing, I feel the scratch of letters in my pocket. I look up at Wesley and see that he felt it on his own paper.

I get up and hug my parents, managing not to flinch as their sounds invade. "Do you mind if Wes and I head out? We have some friends to meet."

Mom nods. "Of course, Mackenzie. Go have fun."

I thank her, and Wes and I head out of the restaurant. We duck into an alley and pull out our papers.

I look at Wes's. It says the same thing as mine.

_Please report to the archive for a promotion. -R_

* * *

"**What's your real name?" I ask Wesley.**

"**You already know my name," he says stiffly.**

"**Cash said Wesley is your middle name, not your first."**

**He turns and walks away, obviously not wanting to share.**

**"For the record, Wesley ****_is_**** my real name. Just because it's not my first name doesn't mean it's not real," he calls back over his shoulder.**

**I rush to follow him. "Okay, it's real. I just want to know your ****_full_**** name."**

**He turns to face me, putting his hands on my shoulders. I try not to flinch at the sudden noise. "You want to know my full name?" he asks. I nod. He rests his forehead against mine and continues, speaking softly.**

"**When Crew are paired up, there's a ceremony. That's when they have their Archive marks carved into their skin. Three lines. One made by their own hand. One made by their partner. One made by the Archive. The Crew make their scars and take their vows to the Archive and to each other. The vows start and end with their names. So, when we become Crew, I'll tell you mine."**

* * *

Wes and I stand in the Archive in front of a Tribunal. We cut lines into our own wrists, then each other's, and then Roland makes the final lines.

We say our vows. When it's Wes's turn, I find out what his full name is. "Templeton Wesley Ayers." He looks at me as he says it, eyes daring me to laugh. I don't, but just barely.

After our vows, Roland smiles. "Congratulations Ms. Bishop and Mr. Ayers. You are now Crew."


	4. Epilogue 2

p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;"strongspan style="font-size: 13.5pt; font-family: Times; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: black;"Ben and I sit at the kitchen table while he does his homework, and as I watch him I can't help but think that he would make a great keeper./span/strong/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;"strongspan style="font-size: 13.5pt; font-family: Times; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: black;"Sometimes I wish Da had named Ben as a successor as well as me. If he were a keeper, I wouldn't have to be so alone. I wouldn't have to keep my secrets from him. If I could, I think I would make him a keeper with me./span/strong/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;"strongspan style="font-size: 13.5pt; font-family: Times; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: black;"Of course, I never get the chance to find out if the Archive would allow it. He dies, and I'm left alone, with no one I can share my secrets with./span/strong/p  
div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;" align="center"hr style="color: black;" align="center" noshade="noshade" size="1" width="100%" /div  
p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;"span style="font-size: 13.5pt; font-family: Times; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: black;"It's Jade's 16th birthday, and we're standing in front of a tribunal in the archive for her induction. Wesley and I are so proud. We're about to name our only daughter our successor. We've been training her to be a keeper for the past year or so, and we're both certain she's ready./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;"span style="font-size: 13.5pt; font-family: Times; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: black;"When Roland asks us to name her as our chosen successor, Wes and I answer without hesitation./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;"span style="font-size: 13.5pt; font-family: Times; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: black;""I, Mackenzie Bishop, name Jade Bishop as my successor."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;"span style="font-size: 13.5pt; font-family: Times; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: black;""I, Templeton Wesley Ayers, name Jade Bishop as my successor."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;"span style="font-size: 13.5pt; font-family: Times; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: black;"Roland nods, smiling. We're an unusual pair. Two keepers who knew each other before becoming Crew partners and had a daughter together./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;"span style="font-size: 13.5pt; font-family: Times; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: black;"When Jade was born, we became keepers again so that we could raise her, but now that she's a keeper and understands how the Archive works, we're taking back our job as Crew./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;"span style="font-size: 13.5pt; font-family: Times; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: black;"Roland gives her a key and a slip of archive paper, and she runs her fingers over them. Her whole life, she's been watching Wes and I with our keys and rings and crew marks. Now, she has a key like ours, and a slip of paper of her own. If only Da had lived to see her. He would've been so proud./span/p  
div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;" align="center"hr style="color: black;" align="center" noshade="noshade" size="1" width="100%" /div  
p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;"span style="font-size: 13.5pt; font-family: Times; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: black;"For the next few days, Jade is constantly checking her paper, waiting for a name to appear. Finally, she gets her wish. She proudly shows Wes and I her list. emGrayson Carver. 7./em/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;"span style="font-size: 13.5pt; font-family: Times; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: black;"Wes and I walk Jade to the closest Narrows door and wish her luck. I remind her to take off her ring as she turns her key and walks into the narrows, leaving us behind in the Outer. It's her first time hunting a history on her own./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;"span style="font-size: 13.5pt; font-family: Times; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: black;"Wesley and I sit down on a nearby bench. I smile and take his hand, letting his rock music pour over me. "We've come a long way since we met, haven't we, Partner in Crime?" I ask./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;"span style="font-size: 13.5pt; font-family: Times; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: black;"He laughs, squeezing my hand. "Sure have."/span /p 


End file.
